Microsoft Corp. on Wednesday announced a cross-licensing deal with Korean consumer electronics maker LG Electronics Inc. It is the fifth such deal in recent months that involves Redmond's controversial granting of Linux patent 'protection' -- in this case, to LG-made cell phones and other devices. Microsoft will pay LG an undisclosed amount of money for patents related to operating systems and computer systems, it said in a press release, while LG will make ongoing payments to Microsoft "for the value of Microsoft patents as they relate to Linux-based embedded devices that LGE produces."

"This agreement is another example of how Microsoft is continuing to build bridges with others in the industry through intellectual property licensing," said Horacio Gutierrez, vice president, Intellectual Property and Licensing at Microsoft, in the statement. "We believe in the importance of respecting the IP rights of others and that patent collaboration and protection is a best business practice the whole industry should be engaged in," said Jeong Hwan Lee, executive vice president of the Intellectual Property Center at LGE, in the same statement.